This is a Viet Nam war story. I’d never heard of it before, but it sure shows up as important in my Google searches. It’s less a war is hell story than a war is soul sucking story. At the beginning, O’Brien describes a platoon of soldiers by what they carry. At the beginning it’s stuff like "P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs". Gradually, the things he describes them carrying become more and more immaterial, "poise, and dignity". Really amazing story, and you really do get to know the men by the things they carry. Baker’s reading is superb. ( )